The Legend of Saria
by LegoLad659
Summary: In this alternate Hyrule in Ocarina of Time's timeline, Link died along with his mother on her way to the Forbidden Forest, leaving Hyrule without its hero. Instead, Saria is chosen to save Hyrule, but she can't do it alone. With Princess Zelda and the ranch girl Malon by her side, will they be able to save Hyrule? Rated T because I don't like rating things lower, just in case.
1. Prelude - Saria

**Hey, guys! So, recently, I got an idea of another story. This one came from a picture I saw online a while ago. Let's see how this goes, shall we?**

**I'm still not entirely sure how I'm going to do this story. I may decide to do it all at once, or maybe just write it normally - Though, WoM made me realize how much trouble that can get me in. Of course, then again, posting it all at once means I have to keep all the files, and that'll be a pain, especially for long stories... Ugh. We'll see how I deal with it. For now, I think I'll just post the prelude and see how people respond to it before I decide what I'll do.**

**On to the story!**

* * *

Saria yawned as she awoke on her bed. It was another bright, new day. She got up and stretched, looking around for her fairy.

_She's probably outside again..._ She thought _Playing with the other fairies, no doubt._

She grabbed an apple out of the bowl of fruit on her table and made a mental note to gather more fruit from the forest before she got back. She then stepped outside. It was, predictably, a beautiful day. The weather was hardly ever bad in the forest.

All the other Kokiri were already up doing their daily activities. Saria was surprised to see one of them in front of her house, picking through the tall grass she'd never bothered to cut down. Although she wouldn't mind if it had to be cut down, she thought it looked nice the way she had it, anyway.

"Hey, Mike, I thought you were supposed to be on shop duty today?" Saria said as she walked up to him.

"Oh, good morning, Saria." Mike responded "Yeah, I know... Mido told me I had to cut the grass here, instead."

"Oh, that Mido..." Saria never liked the way Mido bullied the other Kokiri, telling them what to do. He was probably going to take the credit for Mike's work, too, to try and impress her. It wasn't going to work.

"By the way, have you seen Alta?" Saria asked Mike.

"Actually, she just barely flew into the Great Deku Tree's meadow."

"Ah, okay." She'd probably be back soon then, Saria reasoned "What do you think the Great Deku Tree wants with her?"

Mike shrugged "Beats me."

Saria nodded and walked away. If it was important, Alta would tell her. In the meantime, she would have a little chat with Mido...

But he wasn't home. She spotted him at the entrance to the Deku Tree's meadow and stormed up to him "Mido!"

Mido jumped "Oh! Hi, Saria!"

"What do you think you're doing, sending Mike to cut my lawn? He has other things he has to do too, you know!"

"I, uh... Don't know where you got the impression it was me... Heh..."

"Really? And Mike's word isn't good enough? You get over there right now and apologize!"

"Hehe, well, I'd love to... But, you see, I... I have to stay here!"

Saria tilted her head "Oh yeah? And why is that?"

"Because... Because there are, uh... Monsters around the Deku Tree!"

Saria sighed "You're full of it, Mido. The Great Deku Tree _protects_ us from monsters, remember?"

"But it's true! I've seen them!"

"Have you? Well, then, show me!"

Mido looked hesitant "Well, uh... I don't think that's a good idea... Monsters are dangerous, after all!"

Saria sighed again. This just wasn't worth it, she decided "Fine, whatever. Just don't send anyone else to do your work for you." She told him as she turned and walked away. As she hopped across the stones in the pond, an idea struck her "I know! I can just borrow the Kokiri Sword, then we can go see about those 'Monsters'. It'd just be to persuade him, anyway, I'm sure the others won't mind." She said to herself before running off to the Forest Training Center.

As Saria reached the end of the small tunnel to where the Kokiri Sword was hidden, she stood up and dusted herself off "Phew... I forgot how tight a fit that was." She said to herself, looking around "Now, where is that sword...?"

She wandered around the area for a bit until she found the sword, which she strapped to her back and headed back to the small tunnel, and towards Mido again.

"Oh, Mido!" She yelled as she approached "Let me take care of those monsters for you!"

Mido was surprised to see Saria again "Huh? Why are you... Why do you have the Kokiri Sword?"

"Because I want to protect the Great Deku Tree from the monsters."

"Oh... Well, uh, just a sword isn't enough, you know... Some of those monsters can shoot projectiles at you."

"Oh, for the love of... Fine, I'll go get a shield, then I can take care of the monsters." She said, walking away towards the shop.

Buying a Deku Shield from the shopkeeper filling in for Mike, Saria waved to one of the other customers as she left, heading back to Mido again. When she got there, her fairy was talking to Mido and his fairy.

Saria ran up to them "Hi again! There you are, Alta!"

"Oh, hi Saria! I thought you'd still be asleep." Alta said "Hehe... But, that doesn't matter right now, we need to hurry!"

"What happened? Did Fado get stuck in the trees again?" Saria teased.

"No, not that. Come on, the Deku Tree's in trouble!"

Saria's expression immediately became serious, although frightened as well "What?!"

"Let's hurry!" Alta said, flying ahead. Saria wasted no time in following her, but was interrupted by monsters bursting out of the ground "Woah!"

Alta flew back over to Saria "Be careful, Saria! Those are Deku Babas!"

"Deku Babas?" Saria questioned "How did they get here?"

"I told you the Deku Tree is in trouble!"

Saria looked at the Babas, then at Mido "Well, it looks like you were right..."

"...I was? Oh, yeah! I was!" Mido responded.

"Come on, Saria, cut down the Babas and let's get going!" Alta urged.

Saria looked at the Babas again "I dunno... What if I get hurt?"

"They can't move around much, you'll be fine." Alta answered.

Saria nodded "Right..." she said, before approaching the Deku Babas. They were standing straight up the whole time, unlike what Saria expected them to do. She had expected them to bend and look down at her. After realizing that their stems were hard, she cut them down with no problem, and the group headed to the Deku Tree's meadow.

There was a crowd of Kokiri behind Saria and Mido by this point - Their fairies had told them about the Deku Tree as well. Everyone gathered around the Deku Tree, worried.

"Great Deku Tree, we're here." One of them said.

"What's wrong, Great Deku Tree? You don't look good..." Said another.

"My children, the Kokiri..." The Deku Tree spoke "I have bad news for you all... I am dying."

The air was soon filled with concern from all the Kokiri "D-dying? Why?"

"Last night, an outsider came into the forest seeking me. He wanted something from me, and when I wouldn't give it to him, he laid a curse on me."

"A curse? What kind of curse?"

"Are you gonna be alright?"

Saria stepped up "Is there anything we can do, Great Deku Tree?"

The Deku Tree was silent for a moment "There... Might be a way..."

"Please, tell us!" Saria begged "The Kokiri can't afford to lose you! We need you!"

"The source of the curse is a monster inside of me." The Deku Tree informed them "If the monster is defeated, that may do it. But, it would be very dangerous."

Saria nodded "Right. Well, I'll go in and defeat that monster, then!"

"What are you saying, Saria?" Mido protested "If you go up against the monster, who knows what'll happen to you?"

"Who knows what'll happen to _us_ if the Great Deku Tree dies?" Saria countered "The monster could finish with him, then come after us."

"But..."

"That's it, Mido. I'm going."

There was silence throughout the meadow for what seemed like an eternity, until the Deku Tree spoke again "Very well. If you wish to fight the monster to save me, then enter." He said, opening his mouth "And we shall await the results of your attempt."

Saria nodded and looked at Alta "You ready to go?" She asked the fairy.

"Are you sure about this, Saria?" Alta asked "This is gonna be really dangerous..."

"I know. I can handle it." Saria answered, looking around at the other Kokiri "I'm the only one who can."

"Alright, let's go then..." Alta said, and the two headed into the Deku Tree...


	2. Prelude - Malon

"Hey, Malon! Rise and shine!" Talon, the owner of Lon Lon Ranch, called as he approached the door to his daughter's bedroom. After a few moments with no response, he tried something different "We're heading to the castle today, remember?"

Malon's eyes flew open "Oh, right! I forgot!" She said as she scrambled out of bed, running to the wardrobe "I'll be out in a minute!"

"That's the spirit!" Talon said, walking back down the stairs into the room filled with Cuccos. He wished he could let them out during the night so he and Malon could get some sleep, but whenever he did, they all escaped the ranch.

"I wonder if there's a better way to handle this..." He said to himself "I ain't got another place for 'em, though."

Soon, Malon came out the door, all dressed and ready to go "Okay, let's go!"

Talon nodded and headed for the door "So, how'd you sleep last night, Malon?"

"I slept well!" Malon answered cheerfully "I think I managed to fall asleep before the Cuccos started being noisy. Did they keep you up again?"

"Yep, they did." Talon responded, walking to the cart "Darn things kept me up almost the whole night. I barely got any sleep."

"Well, better luck next time, right?" Malon said, helping Talon lift a crate of milk.

"Yup."

The two lifted the crates into the cart until it was full, then Talon rounded up a couple of horses and tethered them to the cart.

"Oh, I almost forgot something!" Malon exclaimed, running back into the house. She returned shortly with a Cucco in her arms "Can we pleeease take Mister Cluck into town today?"

Talon laughed a bit "Yeah, that should be just fine. Just keep an eye on Mister Cluck, alright?"

Malon nodded "Okay!"

The two climbed into the cart, and left the ranch towards Castle Town. Malon loved going into town - It was nothing like the ranch where she lived. There was always something going on there. She sat in the back making sure the milk bottles wouldn't break, while Talon spurred the horses on.

"Hey, Dad? Don't you think Ingo is gonna be mad at us again for leaving him behind to take care of the ranch?"

"Ah, don't worry about it." Talon answered "Ingo's a hard worker, he'll be fine."

Malon sighed. She found it amazing that an adult could know less about the people around him than a little kid did. Plus, he completely misunderstood her question. She just decided to drop the subject, it wasn't worth trying to correct him.

Malon soon heard the wheels of the cart hit the wooden drawbridge of Castle Town. Elated, Malon jumped out of the cart with her Cucco and ran ahead of Talon and the cart, who headed to the castle. Malon ran through the town, greeting everyone. By this point, almost everyone in town knew her as the girl from Lon Lon Ranch who loves to talk to everybody.

After a couple of hours, Malon realized that Talon hadn't come back from the castle yet. Worried about him, she headed towards the castle gates.

The guard at the gate stopped her "Sorry, little girl, but I can't let you into the castle."

"My Dad's in the castle, delivering milk. He's been gone for a while, and I'm starting to get worried." Malon explained.

"Your father will return when his business is done."

Malon sighed and started walking back to town. As she rounded the corner, she put her back to the wall and looked for her secret entrance inside the castle walls. Spotting the vines growing on the wall, she ran up to them and started climbing up the cliff with them. Once at the top, she stopped briefly to look down on the guard who had refused her entry before continuing on, onto the wall, down the ladder, and out the door.

Approaching the castle, she was very careful not to be seen by the guards. It wasn't easy, either, they were everywhere. She eventually got to the edge of a cliff near the castle moat. She knew that if she were to jump down, there'd be no going back, and she would probably get hurt too. Surveying the area, she saw Talon in the middle of the boxes he had unloaded from the truck. He was, of course, asleep.

"Silly Dad." Malon whispered "It's broad daylight, how do you manage to fall asleep like this?" She set her Cucco down on the ground and knelt next to it "Okay, Mister Cluck, go and wake up my Dad." She told it, pointing towards Talon.

The Cucco didn't quite understand what Malon was saying, but it _did_ understand that she wanted it to go in the direction she was pointing, so it dove off the cliff and headed that way. Malon started to head back to Castle Town, since she knew the Cucco would find its way to Talon and wake him up, and then he'd pick it up and bring it back to her. They've done this routine before.

She couldn't help but grin on her way back as she heard the Cucco crow and the telltale yelling of Talon waking up.

Back at the town, Talon found his way to Malon and the cart, holding the Cucco. Malon smiled at the Cucco in appreciation. She could tell that Talon appreciated its efforts, too.

"Sorry I was so late, Malon." Talon said "Mister Cluck here got me back here. Looks like I owe him another one."

Malon giggled "How many is that now, Dad? You need to stop relying on Mister Cluck to wake y- Uh... Come get you every time you're late, y'know."

Talon laughed "I know, I know. I'll do better next time. Come on, let's get back to the ranch." He said, climbing into the cart.

"Okay!" Malon shouted as she climbed in as well, holding the Cucco. Talon spurred the horses on and out of the town. Once he had them pointed in the right direction, he laid back. Malon couldn't help but giggle a little because she knew he'd fall asleep again - That was just him. She didn't mind, though. The horses knew where they were going. She decided to lay back and think, as well. Though, her train of thought was interrupted a little by Talon's snoring.

"Yup, he's asleep again." Malon told her Cucco, who tilted its head and clucked in response "Nah, let's not wake him up this time."

The Cucco clucked again and, to Malon's surprise, jumped out of the cart "Woah! Hey! Mister Cluck!" She shouted after it, getting up "Where are you going?!"

No response from the Cucco. It looked like Malon would have to chase after it. Malon looked around the cart and saw the hammer Talon kept just in case he needed to make some on-the-road repairs. Malon grabbed it in case she needed to protect herself and gave chase to the Cucco...


	3. Prelude - Zelda

**Here's the third part of the Prelude. This, I think, is the most iffy on viewer response out of all of them, I believe. I know this can be kind of a big turn from the Zelda we know from OoT, and I honestly have no idea how readers will react to it.**

**Ah well, might as well hope for the best, right?**

* * *

Zelda tossed and turned in her bed as she slept. Her guardian, Impa, was watching over her, worried. She knew, however, not to wake the princess as whatever dreams she has could be important, and if they were they'd need as much information from them as possible. She was relieved when the princess woke up, and she knelt by her side.

"Princess, are you alright?" Impa asked.

Zelda was silent for a few moments before nodding "Yeah... I... I think so..." She said, letting Impa help her sit up "...Something... Something terrible is going to happen..."

Impa simply nodded, listening silently and intently to Zelda's words "I had a dream... There were... Dark clouds covering Hyrule... I tried to see through the darkness, and... As lightning struck, I saw a figure... I remember the shape distinctly..."

"Did you recognize him?" Impa inquired.

Zelda hesitated "I don't know..." After thinking for a moment, she spoke again "Wait. Remind me, who is the one Father met with a few days ago? The man in the black armor?"

"His name is Ganondorf. He is the king of the Gerudo tribe, in the west desert." Impa informed her.

"Ganondorf... I think he might be the one in my dream..."

"You're sure about this?"

Zelda nodded.

"Then we have no time to waste. We must inform the King immediately."

Zelda nodded again and got out of bed. The two hurried to the throne room. As they arrived, Impa knelt down "Your Highness, me and princess Zelda come bearing grave news."

Zelda stepped forward and explained her dream again to the King, who simply put his hand on his chin "Hmm... And you believe it was Ganondorf in this dream?"

"Yes. I believe he is a threat to Hyrule!"

"I'm sure it was just a dream, Zelda."

Zelda blinked "Huh?"

"Ganondorf is one of our allies. I'm afraid I can't do anything based on a dream my daughter had, it would paint a bad picture of me. I'm sure you understand."

Zelda was silent for a moment "Of... Of course..." She said, before leaving.

Impa stood up "With all due respect, your Highness, don't you think you should listen to your daughter?"

"Impa, she is a child. I cannot just simply take the word of a child, daughter or no."

"But, she has proven to-"

"This discussion is concluded, Impa. Return to your duties. You are dismissed."

Impa bowed and hurried after Zelda.

Impa found Zelda back in her room, sitting on her bed and looking out the window "Princess?"

"Father doesn't believe me... He won't do anything about Ganondorf." Zelda replied simply.

"That seems to be the case." Impa said, sitting next to her.

"What do I do, Impa? I'm almost certain he's after the Triforce in the Sacred Realm. If we don't do something, there's no telling what would happen."

Impa thought for a moment "Did you see anything else in your dream?"

Zelda nodded "Yeah... In the distance, I saw a girl dressed in green, accompanied by a Fairy and holding the Spiritual Stone of the Forest."

"I am sure everything will be fine, then."

"I don't know... If it was an older boy, then I'd probably let it go, but this is just a little girl."

"Little or no, people can still do great things if the Goddesses wish them to."

"Still, I'm worried..."

Impa stood up after a moment "I'll be right back." She said before leaving the room. Zelda was left thinking about what Impa was doing until she returned, holding a sword and a shield with a Triforce Crest on it.

"What's this, Impa?" Zelda asked.

"Some weapons for you." Impa answered "If you genuinely feel that the girl in your dream cannot save Hyrule, then why not take this matter into your own hands?"

Zelda was hesitant to take the equipment "I... I can't take these... But, if I don't..." She argued with herself before looking up at Impa "What are you going to do, Impa?"

"I will stay here and monitor the Gerudo King's movements. If I suspect he is making moves to attack Hyrule Castle or Castle Town, I shall find you and inform you immediately."

Zelda nodded and looked back at the equipment for a few moments before she decided to take them "Okay, I'll do it. I'm going to keep Ganondorf from entering the Sacred Realm... That's kind of a scary thought, actually..."

"I'm sure you will do fine, princess."

Zelda nodded "Right. Oh, what are you going to tell my father if he realizes I'm missing?"

"I'll inform him that you're visiting one of the neighboring countries."

"Okay." Zelda said, strapping on her new gear "Where should I head first?"

"I would suggest the Gorons on Death Mountain first. Their leader is good friends with the King, and you should have little trouble convincing him to give you the Spiritual Stone of Fire."

Zelda nodded again "Right. Oh, and Impa? If the girl from my dream comes looking for me..."

Impa knew what Zelda was thinking, and already had a response ready "If she comes to the castle, I shall inform her of where you went."

"Thank you, Impa." Zelda said, before leaving her room. She took the secret passages in the castle that Impa used all the time, and ended up outside the castle gates. From there, she made sure not to be seen by guard or villager as she left for Hyrule Field...

* * *

**And there you go, the prologue is done! Please let me know what you think, I know this concept is a bit odd, but hopefully I can pull it off.**


	4. Breaking the Curse

**Alright, so first things first, big thanks to zeldakitty for her reviews, which helped me gain confidence in this story, and I think I'm more ready to do this. Thanks, zeldakitty!**

**Onwards to the story!**

* * *

Saria followed one of the Deku Scrubs that lived inside the Deku Tree. She'd convinced it to lead her to the monster that was killing the Deku Tree, apparently called a Gohma.

"Are you sure you should do this, Saria?" Alta asked, worried "Gohmas are really dangerous..."

Saria nodded hesitantly "Yeah... I'm sure I can handle it, right?" Her confidence had grown a bit from clearing out the other monsters inside the Deku Tree.

"They're a lot bigger than what you've seen so far."

"Eheh... Thanks for the confidence boost, Alta..."

"Oh, sorry."

The Deku Scrub stopped at a doorway "Here we are, the Gohma's in here."

Saria nodded and took a deep breath "Here we go..." She said, walking into the room. It was pitch-black inside, she couldn't see a thing. She could hear something moving around, though.

"It's really dark in here..." Alta stated, before lighting the room up so they could see.

What Saria saw froze her in her tracks. There was this huge... Thing with one eye and a long, thick tail staring right at her.

"...Alta...!"

"That's the Gohma!"

"I can see that, what do I do?"

Before Alta could answer, the Gohma charged at Saria, who dove to the side to avoid it. The Gohma's claws ended up embedded in the ground, and it tried to pull them out.

Alta shouted to Saria "Don't try cutting through its armor, it's too strong! Focus on attacking its eye instead!"

Saria stood up and ran around to the front of the Gohma, but before she could hit it, it managed to pull its claws out of the ground and it moved to a position where Saria couldn't hit its eye from. The Gohma looked at her and swung its claws again, which Saria narrowly dodged. She kept avoiding its attacks until an opportunity to fight back.

This opportunity came in the form of the Gohma hitting the wall with its claw. Saria jumped onto its arm and ran towards its eye, slicing it in half with her sword. The Gohma screeched and flailed around, throwing Saria off of it before freeing its claw from the wall and turning towards her.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zelda made her way up Death Mountain. All of this was new to her, as she had rarely been outside the castle walls, much less outside Castle Town. She trekked up the mountain and into the Goron City.

She jumped as a large rock next to her suddenly stood up "Oh, hello! Welcome to Goron City!"

Zelda regained her composure "Ah... Thank you. I'm here on an errand, could you tell me where Darunia is?" She knew the Goron leader's name from the King's conversations about them.

"Big Brother? His room is on the bottom floor of the city. He's locked himself in there, though. He said he was going to wait there for the Royal Family's messenger to arrive."

Zelda thanked the Goron and made her way through the tunnels in the city to the bottom.

* * *

Saria turned as she heard the crash behind her. She had managed to trick the Gohma into burying its claws in the ground again, and she drove her sword into its eye. It shrieked and, after a few moments, fell limp.

Saria stayed still for a few moments before she pulled her sword out of the Gohma's eye "Is... Is that it?"

Alta flew up to Saria "You did it! You killed the Gohma!"

Saria couldn't help but smile "Yeah... I did, didn't I? I saved the Great Deku Tree!" She cheered, and ran towards the door "Come on, let's go tell everyone!"

Soon enough, they were outside the Deku Tree, and the Kokiri cheered "Hey, look, Saria's back!"

"Did you do it? Is the monster dead?"

"Yay! Now the Deku Tree doesn't have to die!"

Saria turned to the Deku Tree, beaming "I did it, Great Deku Tree!"

"Well done, Saria. You have broken the curse that the man had placed upon me." The Deku Tree said "However, I am sorry to say that, while your efforts were valiant, it seems that I was doomed before you started..."

"Wh-... What?! But... You said that...!"

"Unfortunately, I will pass on soon. But before I do, there is something I must tell you, Saria."

Everyone quieted down so the Deku Tree could speak.

"The man who laid this curse on me, he hails from the desert to the west. He is after the sacred power of the Goddesses... You see, long ago, before Hyrule was created, three Goddesses descended from the heavens. Din, the Goddess of Power, created the red earth. Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom, used her power to create the spirit of law in the world. And Farore, the Goddess of Courage, created all life forms which would uphold that law. When they had finished with these works, they returned to the heavens, leaving behind the Triforce, infused with their power. It is this which the man from the desert seeks."

Saria took a few moments to absorb all of this "So, the man cursed you because he was looking for the Triforce?"

"Yes. And now, I will give you the item the man wanted so badly, he laid the curse on me." The Deku Tree declared, and something fell from his leaves, which Saria caught and examined. It was a green stone, surrounded by gold in the shape of the Kokiri symbol.

"What is this?" Saria asked the Deku Tree.

"I am afraid I do not have enough time to explain. If you truly wish to know, seek out Princess Zelda in Hyrule Castle."

"But, didn't you say that we Kokiri would die if we left the forest?"

The Deku Tree was silent for a moment "That is true... But, I assure you, you will be fine, Saria."

One of the Kokiri ran up to the Deku Tree "Do you really have to go, Great Deku Tree?"

"I am afraid so... Goodbye, my children..." The Deku Tree said, as his bark started to darken, and leaves started falling.

Saria fell to her knees "Great Deku Tree..." The air was filled with sadness from all of the Kokiri, and Saria looked at the stone the Deku Tree gave her.

"Saria...?" Alta said softly.

"We couldn't do anything, Alta... We couldn't save him..." Saria responded.

"We did the best we could, Saria..."

Saria didn't remove her eyes from the stone "If I want to know what this is..." She whispered to herself, before standing up "...Come on, Alta."

"What? Where are we going?"

"To Hyrule Castle. I want to know what this stone is the Great Deku Tree gave me."

"But, if you leave the forest..."

"The Great Deku Tree said I would be fine, right? Has he ever lied to us before?"

"Well... No, I guess not..."

Saria nodded "Then it's settled." She said, as she turned to the Kokiri "Don't worry, everyone. I'll be back once I figure out what this stone is."

"But, Saria...!" One of them spoke up.

"I'll come back, I promise. Goodbye for now, everyone." She said as she started to walk away.

"Goodbye, Saria!" Yelled the Kokiri, all of them waving "Be safe!"

Saria waved back and looked at Alta as they approached the exit of the forest "Are you ready, Alta?"

Alta stared down the tunnel for a few moments before nodding "...Yeah. Let's go."


	5. A Missing Child

Saria couldn't help but stare in awe at the large field in front of her. She'd never left the forest, so she was amazed at how clear the field was, as she hadn't ever even considered the concept of a place without dense trees everywhere.

After a few moments, Alta spoke up "You okay, Saria?"

Saria glanced at Alta briefly before shaking her head quickly, snapping herself out of her trance "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just, I've never seen anything like this before..."

"It's cool, isn't it?"

Saria nodded in agreement "So, where's this Hyrule Castle?"

"I'm afraid we won't get there in one day, it's too far." Alta explained "But I think there's a ranch about halfway there, we could stop by there to rest for the night."

Saria nodded, then paused "...What's a ranch?"

"It's a place where lots of animals are bred and raised. I don't think there are any animals you've seen, though."

"Cool... Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Saria said, as she ran off into the fields.

* * *

Darunia's yelling echoed out of his room and throughout Goron City. He wasn't happy to see a little kid walk in after hearing the song of the Royal Family and opening the door. He thought it was the messenger he'd been waiting for so he could send the King a message detailing their situation, which was looking pretty dire. On top of that, she wanted the Goron's Ruby? Sure, she said she was the King's daughter, but regardless he's certainly not going to give their Spiritual Stone away to a little kid he just met.

Zelda, on the other hand, was trying to keep as calm and professional as possible, under the circumstances. That became increasingly difficult as time went on, however - This Goron was really stubborn, and it was really getting on her nerves that they weren't getting anywhere. She eventually had to back out and leave to cool off for a bit. This could take a while.

* * *

Back down in Kakariko Village, at the foot of Death Mountain, Malon chases after her Cucco "W-... Wait, Mister Cluck...!" She yelled after it, out of breath. It was gaining a lot of ground, and she was just too tired to keep up with it. She decided to rest up against a wall, just for a little bit. She'd gather her energy and try again.

If her Cucco was still around, that is. Of course, she was fairly sure it wouldn't wander too far from her, because it never did. There were also a lot of other Cuccos around for it to talk to, to keep it occupied. After a while, she got back up and looked around the village for it.

* * *

As Saria approached Lon Lon Ranch, she heard someone yelling "Malon! Malon, where are you?!"

Saria ran towards the voice, and stopped when she saw a man much bigger than she was "Woah..."

"What's wrong?" Alta asked.

"He's bigger than I thought..."

"That's because the Kokiri don't grow as much as the Hylians here do." Alta explained to her.

"Really?"

Alta nodded "Yeah. Come on, he looks worried about something."

"Right." Saria said, walking up to the man "Excuse me, is something wrong?"

The man looked at them "Oh, I'm sorry, little girl."

"What's going on?"

"My daughter's gone missing, y'see... I don't know where she went."

"What?"

"I've looked all over the ranch, but she's nowhere to be found."

"That's terrible..." Alta said.

"I can't see her from outside the ranch either, and it's gettin' dark... What if she's out in the fields?"

"I'm sure she found a safe place to hide for the night. She's smart, right?"

The man nodded "Yeah, she is."

"She'll be fine then, I'm sure. Besides, this place is in just the right spot so you can see a large chunk of Hyrule Field, right? I'm sure you'd have seen her if she was still out there."

The man took this into consideration "Yeah, I guess you're right. She probably found a safe place to stay for the night, in that case."

"We can keep an eye out for her, if you like." Saria offered.

"Thanks, you two. Where're you headed, anyway?" The man asked.

"We're going to Castle Town." Alta told him "I'm not sure how long we'll be there."

"Castle Town, eh? That's quite a ways from here. "

"Yep. Would you mind if we stayed here for the night?"

"Not at all! We don't get many visitors here. M'name's Talon, I'm the owner of Lon Lon Ranch."

"I'm Saria, and this is Alta." Saria said "Thank you for letting us stay here."

"No problem!"

* * *

Zelda sighed as she left Goron City. She hadn't gotten anywhere with Darunia, and the sun was already starting to set. She knew Impa used to live in Kakariko, so she started to climb back down the mountain and back to the village. Sleeping with the Gorons didn't sound particularly appealing to her, after all.

When she was almost to the village, Zelda saw a Cucco quickly flying towards her. Panicking, she ducked, and the Cucco flew over her.

Malon ran by Zelda "Sorry!" She yelled as she passed. Zelda stood up and watched the girl run after the Cucco.

Malon managed to corner the Cucco and grabbed it "I caught you, Mister Cluck!" She said to it "C'mon, let's go back to the ranch." She looked behind herself for the girl she passed not too long ago, but she wasn't there. Zelda had already gone back to the village and was getting directions from the local townspeople to Impa's house.

"Who was that?" Malon asked herself "She looked pretty... Almost like one of the girls from Castle Town!" She then walked back to the village, holding her Cucco.

When Malon got to the village gate, she stopped for a moment "Hmm... On second thought, I don't think we could get back to the ranch before dark. Dad told me that it's dangerous out there at night." She realized "I bet he's worried... Oh well, I'll just have to let him know what happened when I get back tomorrow." She held out her Cucco "In the meantime, we're gonna stay here for the night! Does that sound like fun, Mister Cluck?"

The Cucco clucked once and looked around. Malon giggled and walked back into the village, looking for a place to sleep for the night.


	6. Infiltrating Hyrule Castle

Saria groaned as she laid in the bed Talon gave her for the night. The animals in the other room - Cuccos, Alta called them - were driving her crazy. They'd been clucking for almost the whole night. She was elated whenever they quieted down, but that soon turned to more irritation as they started up again just before she fell asleep. Somehow, Alta managed to sleep through this racket.

"What's their deal?" Saria asked no one in particular "Don't they ever sleep?"

Once Saria noticed the light of dawn through the window, she sighed and got up, heading out the door for the moment. She'd wait until Alta woke up, then they'd go to Hyrule Castle. She sat down near the corral and watched the horses, some of them already wide awake. She took an interest in one of them in particular; It had a white mane, while the others had black ones. It was also smaller than the others.

Saria turned when she heard someone grumbling. It was another Hylian, though this one wasn't as big as Talon. He was holding a bucket and a pitchfork. She stood up "I'm sorry, am I not supposed to be here?"

The man glared at her "...No, you're fine."

"Is something wrong?"

"Sure is. You see, my name's Ingo, and I pretty much run the ranch. You thought Talon did? Guess again, I'm the only guy around here that does any real work."

"Huh? Why is that?"

"Because the only thing that bum Talon does all day is sleep and berate me for the way I handle the animals. And he says Malon is too young to help, either! Pah, if I were the owner, things would be different around here!" Ingo complained before walking into the corral.

Saria stood there, thinking about what he said "He's working the whole ranch on his own? Talon doesn't help at all? That must be difficult..." She said to herself before her attention turned to one of the windows on the house, where Alta was awake and having trouble opening it. She eventually managed to open the window and fly over to Saria "Hey, good morning, Saria!"

Saria waved to Alta "Good morning, Alta. Did the Cuccos keep you up, too?"

"Kinda." Alta responded "It wasn't a big deal, though."

Saria nodded "Ah. Well, you're lucky, then."

"I've already let Talon know we're ready to leave. He said he'd grab his cart and give us a lift there, since he's going to start looking for Malon there anyway."

"Alright."

Sure enough, Talon came out of the house moments later and walked over to the cart parked nearby. Saria and Alta followed suit and climbed on.

"Thanks for giving us a ride, Talon." Saria said.

"No problem." He responded as he led the horses out of the ranch "I was on my way there, anyway, so I figured why not?"

Saria nodded "Right. But still."

Soon enough, they heard the sound of wood beneath the wheels, and Saria jumped "What's that noise...?"

"We hit the town's drawbridge." Talon explained, navigating the cart to the spot he usually parks it in.

"That means were at Castle Town!" Alta exclaimed.

Saria looked out the back of the cart. She saw that the ground was made of stone, as was the building in front of her "Woah..."

"Never been to Castle Town before, have ya?" Talon asked as he dismounted.

Saria climbed out of the cart and shook her head "Nope... It's kind of scary..." She said, noticing all the people ahead that were bigger than her.

"It can be a little overwhelming at times, but don't worry, you'll be fine."

"Yeah. Thanks again, Talon."

Talon nodded and they waved to each other as they parted ways.

Saria made her way through the streets, which were starting to fill up as the day started "I've never seen a place like this before..."

"The Hylians build their houses differently from the Kokiri." Alta explained "They dig up stone from the ground and chop down trees so they can build these houses."

Saria stared at Alta "They... Chop down the trees?"

Alta nodded "Yeah."

"Poor trees..."

"They do plant new ones so the forests don't suffer."

"I can't help but feel bad for the ones they cut down, though." Saria said as they approached the path to Hyrule Castle.

"Hey, look, there's the castle!" Alta pointed out.

Saria looked at the castle in the distance "That's Hyrule Castle? It's huge...!"

"Yeah, it is. We just have to find Princess Zelda though, right? That shouldn't be too hard."

"Right... Um, by the way, Alta... What's a Princess?"

Alta fell silent for a while "Uh, well... She's the daughter of the King. He's the one that rules over Hyrule."

"Is a King like the Great Deku Tree?"

"That's... Not an _entirely_ correct analogy, but... I guess the general idea's the same."

"I see..." Saria said, before running up to the guard at the gate "Excuse me!"

"What is it?" The guard asked.

"Can I see Princess Zelda?"

The guard stared at her for a moment, then broke out into laughter "_You_ want to see the princess? That's funny!"

Saria stepped back, not expecting this reaction from the guard "Is... Is there something wrong?"

"You think you can just waltz into the castle and see the princess? Sorry, little girl, but the princess would never grant an audience to the likes of you. Run along home, now."

Saria was so stunned, she couldn't bring herself to do anything but walk away quietly.

"Well, that didn't go well..." Alta said as they rounded the corner back to town.

"No, it didn't..." Saria replied sadly "What do we do now?"

Alta looked around and spotted some vines growing on a nearby rock wall "...We could try breaking in."

Saria looked at Alta "...What?"

Alta pointed out the vines "Over there, we can use those to get past the gate."

"Are you crazy, Alta? What if we get caught?"

"Well, you want to see Princess Zelda, right?"

Saria looked at the vines again "Yeah, but... It still sounds risky..."

"Don't you want to find out about the gem the Deku Tree gave you?"

Saria paused for a moment and pulled out the emerald "...Okay. Let's go." She decided, putting it back and running up to the vines.

* * *

Malon jumped as a Cucco outside crowed, waking her up. She sat up and looked around the small room she was given for the night. When she saw that the door was opened slightly, she jumped up "Oh, no, did Mister Cluck get away again...?" She asked herself as she ran outside "Mister Cluck! Mister Cluuuck!" She yelled, looking around. "Ohh... Where's he gone to now?"

Malon spotted Zelda in the distance "...Hey, she's that girl I saw yesterday! Hey!" She yelled, running over to Zelda and waving.

Zelda looked at her "Oh. Hello. You're that girl from yesterday, aren't you?"

"Yeah!"

"Did you catch that Cucco you were chasing?"

Malon nodded "Yeah! But, then I lost him again..."

"Oh. Well, better luck next time, right?"

"Yep. By the way, I'm Malon, from Lon Lon ranch!"

"Malon of Lon Lon Ranch, huh? You're a long way from home."

"Yeah. I chased Mister Cluck all the way here."

Zelda paused for a moment "...Mister Cluck?"

"Yeah, that's his name!"

After thinking for a moment, Zelda decided to just leave it and move on "That's some determination, chasing after a Cucco for so long."

"Well, he's my friend."

"Right... Well, I should probably be going now." Zelda said, starting to walk towards the gate to Death Mountain.

Malon followed "I'll come with you! Maybe Mister Cluck went up the mountain again, like he did before."

Zelda looked at Malon "How are you so sure?"

"Well... I'm not, really. Maybe he likes to explore new places! That's always fun!"

Zelda sighed. This girl's childish ideas were absurd, but she decided it was useless to protest, and just let her tag along.

"So, what's your name?" Malon asked as they walked up the trail of Death Mountain.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself." Zelda said, bowing "My name is Zelda, of Hyrule Castle."

Malon gasped "Wait, so you're... Princess Zelda?!"

Zelda nodded "Indeed, I am."

"W-wow, it... It's an honor to meet you! But, what's the princess of Hyrule doing all the way out here?"

"I'm looking for something, actually."

"What're you looking for?"

"An item that the Gorons have."

"Oh, okay. Can I still come with you?"

"If you'd like..."

Malon jumped for joy "Yay, I get to travel with the princess!"

Zelda sighed again as they continued up the mountain.

* * *

Saria darted up to a corner and peered around it. This was getting difficult, with all the guards around.

"This place is big..." Saria whispered "Where could the princess be?"

"I dunno..." Alta replied, just as silently "I haven't exactly been inside the castle before..."

Saria jumped as she heard another voice behind her "What do you think you're doing?" She was caught! Without even looking at who was speaking, she bolted down the hall.

She was quickly grabbed by the collar and dragged back "Hold on, there." Her captor told her, as she opened a secret door in the wall and stepped inside, closing it and letting Saria go.

Saria stumbled a bit and spun around "I-I'm sorry, I didn't- I mean, I wanted to-..." She stuttered.

"Calm down. You're not in trouble."

"I-... I'm not?"

"But, we broke into the castle, didn't we?" Alta asked, confused.

"Yes, you did." The lady told them "And if it were anyone but me that found you here, you _would_ be in trouble."

"So... Why _aren't_ we in trouble?" Saria asked.

"You're searching for Princess Zelda, correct?"

Saria blinked "Well... Yeah, but... How did you...?"

"The princess foresaw your arrival, and wanted me to tell you when you came that she is not currently in the castle."

"Oh... Where is she?"

"She left to Death Mountain yesterday. If you are swift, you may be able to meet her there."

Saria nodded "Okay. Thank you, miss..."

"Impa."

"Thank you, Impa. We'll head there right away."

Impa nodded "Come, follow me. I know a way out of the castle, where there are no guards." She told them, walking down the secret passage. Saria followed quietly, until they emerged outside the castle gates.

Saria waved to Impa as the secret door closed "Death Mountain, huh? That's a pleasant name..."

"Death Mountain is a volcano. It's a pretty dangerous place." Alta informed her.

"A volcano?"

"A kind of mountain that has lava and fire and stuff in it."

"Oh, okay..."

"Let's head into town and see if we can find a better shield for you before we head up there."

Saria nodded, and ran back to Castle Town.


	7. Heading For Death Mountain

Saria waved as she and Alta left the shop, holding her new metal shield.

"Phew, I thought we'd never find a shop that sold a shield your size..." Alta said as they walked out of the alleyway the shop was located in "Let alone one you could afford."

Saria nodded in agreement "Yeah. This thing is kind of heavy, though."

"That's because the metal in the shield is much heavier than the wood you're used to. Don't worry, once we're out of Death Mountain, you can go back to using the Deku Shield."

"Yeah, I think I'll do that. Where should we put the Deku Shield, in the meantime?"

"Hmm..." Alta looked around, and spotted Talon "I know! Talon can hold on to it for us."

Saria looked at Talon "Good idea. Hey, Talon!" She yelled, running over to him.

"Oh, hello, Saria." Talon greeted her.

"Could I ask you a favor?"

"Sure! What can I do for ya?"

"We're going to head up to Death Mountain, and I need to leave my shield behind somewhere so it doesn't get burnt. Is it alright if I leave it with you until we get back?"

"Death Mountain, eh?" Talon asked, scratching his head "Seems like a dangerous place for a little girl."

"I'll make sure she's fine." Alta assured him.

"Well, alright. I don't think Malon's here in Castle Town, so how about a ride to Kakariko?"

"Are you sure you're alright taking us to so many places?" Saria asked.

Talon nodded "Yeah, it's no problem."

"Thanks, Talon."

* * *

Malon looked around Goron City "Wow, I've never been here before. Have you?"

"Once." Zelda replied.

"When was that?"

"Yesterday."

"Ooh, okay. So, where's this thing you need from the Gorons?"

"Their leader, Darunia, has it. Unfortunately, he is unwilling to listen to me."

"Why?"

"The item I need is quite valuable to the Gorons. Add that to the fact that someone is trying to take it from them by force, that makes things quite difficult."

"Oh. Well, maybe we can help them somehow?"

Zelda looked at Malon "How?"

Malon shrugged "Just a suggestion. Let's look around the mountain for Mister Cluck for now, 'kay?"

Zelda sighed "Alright, I guess we can look around for a little bit..." She answered. Maybe something will come to her as they were looking around, she told herself.

As they wandered around the mountain, Zelda stopped "Wait..." She told Malon, holding her arm in front of her.

Malon looked around "Why?"

Just then, a Tektite rounded the corner and spotted them. Zelda drew her sword.

"Aah! It's a monster!" Malon yelled. The Tektite jumped at her, and she reacted by ducking and swinging her hammer above her head, with her eyes shut. When she opened them, the Tektite was gone.

"...Huh? Where'd it go?"

Zelda pointed at the cliff edge nearby "Over there. That was a good shot."

"Eheh, thanks..." Malon replied, before continuing on.

* * *

"Thanks again for your help, Talon." Saria called as she waved, walking away "He's really nice, isn't he?"

Alta nodded in agreement "Yeah, he is."

Saria looked around, and up at the volcano nearby "So, is that Death Mountain?"

"Yep. You ready?"

Saria nodded and headed for the mountain. As she walked up the trail, she heard someone yelling.

"It's a monster!"

"Hurry!" Saria said to Alta, running up the mountain trail.

"Look out!" Alta warned, as a red monster with four yellow legs fell in front of them.

Saria drew her sword "Wh-what's this thing?"

"It's called a Tektite." Alta explained "It attacks by jumping at its enemy."

It struggled for a bit, and Saria looked confused "What's it doing?"

"I think it's upside down."

"Ah." Saria jumped back as it suddenly jumped upright.

"Careful, Saria..." Alta cautioned.

The Tektite jumped at Saria, who dodged and swung at its back, cutting it. It spun around and jumped again, and Saria intercepted it with her sword and running it into its eye. The Tektite fell to the ground, and Saria withdrew her sword.

Saria turned when she heard clapping behind her. It was a little girl in a white and blue dress, holding a hammer. Behind her was another, older girl holding a sword and shield.

"Wow, that was cool!" The little girl praised, still clapping.

Saria smiled "Thanks. Who are you?"

"I'm Malon!"

"Malon?" Alta asked "From Lon Lon Ranch?"

Malon nodded "Yep!"

"You know your father's worried about you, right?"

Malon gasped "Oh, right! I forgot to let him know what I was doing!"

"At least you're safe." Saria said "You should go back to your father, now."

"I know I should, but, well... I can't yet. I'm still looking for Mister Cluck."

Saria tilted her head "Mister... Cluck?"

The other girl spoke up "It's her pet Cucco. It ran away from her, and she's looking for it."

Malon nodded "Right. Could you let my dad know that I'll be back once I get Mister Cluck?"

"I'm sure he'll still worry you'll get hurt." Alta told her.

"You can tell him not to, and that I'll stay out of trouble." Malon assured, sounding confident.

"Well, alright. I'll be right back." Alta told them, flying back down the mountain path.

The other girl walked up to Saria and examined her "Hmm..."

"Why are you staring at me like that...?" Saria asked.

"You... You're the one from my dream..."

"Huh?"

"What's your name?"

"Uh... Saria. And my Fairy's name is Alta. Why?"

"It is nice to meet you, Saria. My name is Zelda."

Saria's eyes widened "Zelda? You mean, the _princess_ Zelda?"

Zelda nodded "That's right."

"Okay, um, wow..." Saria stuttered. She thought she was prepared to meet Zelda, but she was second-guessing herself now. She quickly composed herself, and cleared her throat "You're the one I've been looking for! "

Zelda tilted her head "Really?"

Saria nodded "Yeah! Listen, I need to know what..." She said, reaching into her pocket for the stone the Deku Tree gave her "...This is. The Great Deku Tree said that you'd be able to tell me."

Zelda looked at the stone "This... It's called a Spiritual Stone - One of three, in fact."

"What's that?"

"The Spiritual Stones are the keys to the Sacred Realm." Zelda explained to Saria.

Saria was confused "Sacred Realm? Sorry, I don't understand... I just came to this place from the forest."

Malon looked at Saria "The forest? Does that mean you're one of the Forest Spirits I've heard about?"

Saria giggled "Well, I guess you could call us that. We call ourselves the Kokiri, though."

"Woah, cool! Wait 'til I tell my dad, I met an actual Forest Spirit!" Malon yelled, jumping for joy.

Alta flew back from the village "Hey, I'm back, guys! What's Malon jumping around for?"

"She's excited because she found out that I'm a Kokiri." Saria explained.

"Ah, okay." Alta said "Well, I let Talon know you're here. He'll stay in Kakariko Village for now, since he's holding on to something for us."

Malon nodded "Okay, thanks, miss Fairy!"

"Anyway, let's get back on track, shall we?" Zelda interjected "Have you heard of the Goddesses Din, Nayru, and Farore, Saria?"

Saria thought for a moment "...Yeah, I think the Great Deku Tree told me about them. They created the world, right?"

Zelda nodded "That's correct."

"And don't forget that they left the Triforce behind when they were done, too." Alta reminded Saria.

"Right." Saria replied "The Triforce that has their power."

Zelda continued with her explanation "Well, the Sacred Realm is where the Triforce was left, and still is today."

"Woah, really? And this stone is one of the keys to get there?"

"Right."

Saria looked down at the stone "So, that's what the man wanted... To get to this Sacred Realm..."

Zelda's attention was caught "Wait, what man?"

"A couple of nights ago, we had a visitor in our forest. The Great Deku Tree told me he was looking for this, and when he wouldn't give it to him..."

"What did the man look like?" Zelda asked, though she was pretty sure she already knew the answer.

Saria shook her head "I don't know. I was asleep while this was happening. "

Alta spoke up "I didn't see him either, but the Deku Tree said he's from the desert."

"Ah, I knew it..." Zelda said, turning to look up the path.

"Who is he? " Saria asked "Do you know him?"

"His name is Ganondorf, a Gerudo from the west desert. He swears allegiance to my father, the King, but his true intention is, like you said, to enter the Sacred Realm."

"So, he's looking for the Triforce?" Malon asked.

Zelda nodded "Exactly. And I doubt he'd use it for good."

"Yeah. And he's shown how determined he is to get it..." Saria said, looking back at the stone and clutching it tightly.

"Why? What happened?" Malon asked her.

Saria held the stone against her chest "He... Killed our guardian deity, the Great Deku Tree..."

Both Malon and Zelda gasped "Wh-what? He killed your guardian for your stone?!" Malon asked, shocked.

"If he's taking such measures to get the Spiritual stones..." Zelda said, looking up at the mountain "We must hurry, before he does something similar to the Gorons and Zoras!" She told them, before running up the trail. Saria, Alta, and Malon followed behind her.


	8. Into the Dodongo's Cavern

**Sorry for taking so long in getting this chapter out, I had a bit of Writer's Block for a while. I also apologize that it's so short, I had intended to go for a bit longer, but I figured this was enough for now.**

**Addressing the reviews from TheBigOne: One, if you want to review something, I'd advise you to get an account so PMs work, and you don't embarrass yourself in front of everyone that doesn't look at the reviews.**

**Two, I can understand how you think that. The Deku Tree **_**did**_** tell them they'd die if they left the forest, though we've never seen that happen. However, may I refer you to the ending credits in Ocarina of Time? There are clearly Kokiri dancing along with everyone else in Lon Lon Ranch. How are they there? Shouldn't they die because of what the Deku Tree told them?**

**The way I think of it, no. The Deku Tree is a father to the Kokiri - He thinks of them as his children. As such, he protects them however he can. The reach of this goal extends even to **_**lying**_** to them. He lied to the Kokiri, saying they'd die if they left the forest, so that they would be safe from the monsters outside the forest. The Kokiri never realized this because they never tried to leave the forest, because of what the Deku Tree said. So you're right, there is no spell or whatever in the first place.**

**Now, I know what you're thinking: "But LegoLad, Saria is a Kokiri, so shouldn't she believe she'd die, too?" Well, the Deku Tree told her she'd be fine, and she trusts the Deku Tree like one would trust their father (A good father, of course).**

**"But she left the forest, so why hasn't she realized all this yet?" Simple. Her goal when she left was to find out what the stone was, and her goal now is to help Zelda against Ganondorf. She hasn't had **_**time**_** to think about this, and even if she did, she wouldn't want to think about the Deku Tree anyway.**

**So, no, it's not a plothole. I hope this helped.**

* * *

"No means _NO_!" Darunia yelled at the three girls.

"But, if we don't hurry-" Zelda tried to speak.

"I don't care! I have too many problems to worry about right now, and adding an extra won't help things!"

"What exactly is going on? Maybe we can help." Saria reasoned.

"You want to know? Hordes of creatures have infested the Dodongo's Cavern, we've had very little Bomb Flowers growing anywhere outside the Cavern, and everyone is starving because of the rock shortage!" Darunia told her "But this is a Goron problem! We don't _need_ any help from strangers! Now, get out of here!" With that, he picked them up and threw them out of his room. Zelda landed on her back, Malon landed face first, and Saria rolled along the ground.

"Oww..." Malon complained, pushing herself up "He's mean..."

"Yeah..." Zelda agreed, standing up too "I had just as much luck the last time..."

"We have some information from him, though." Alta pointed out "The Dodongo's Cavern, Bomb Flowers..."

Saria stood up, dusting herself off "Alta's right. Maybe we can clear out those monsters and _earn_ Darunia's trust."

"Hey, she's right!" Malon said "We can't _talk_ our way to the stone, but we can convince the big Goron guy by helping him with the monsters!"

"Exactly! Where's the Dodongo's Cavern?"

"We passed it on our way up, actually." Zelda told them "It's blocked by a huge boulder, which is why you probably didn't notice it."

"You mean that big rock down there?" Malon asked "How are we going to get into the cavern?"

"Perhaps we could find a Bomb Flower close enough to the cavern to blow up the rock..."

"What's a Bomb Flower?" Saria asked.

"They're explosive plants that grow on Death Mountain." Alta explained to her.

"That sounds dangerous..."

"They're useful, though. Come on, let's hurry." Alta said, as they all ran for the exit.

As they left Goron City, Saria spotted something on the tip of her eye, and stopped "Hey, what's that?" She asked, walking up to the black, orb-like plant that was growing at the edge of a cliff.

Zelda stopped, too "That's a Bomb Flower."

Alta flew over a fence behind the Bomb Flower "Look! Down there!"

Saria looked down the cliff. At the bottom was a boulder, against a wall "Hey, that must be the Dodongo's Cavern!"

Malon ran up next to her and looked down, too "Yeah!"

Zelda looked at the Bomb Flower nearby, and knelt down, trying to pick it up. No good, it was firmly rooted to the ground "Saria, Malon, help me lift this out of the ground."

Saria bent down next to the flower and helped Zelda pick it up. Just as Malon walked up to help, too, one of the Bomb Flower's roots snapped, and its fuse lit.

"Uh oh!" Alta panicked.

"Hurry, pull the rest of it out!" Zelda ordered. Malon quickly grabbed the Bomb Flower, and the three of them pulled it out the rest of the way, and haphazardly tossed it off the edge of the cliff.

Saria took a few deep breaths, her heart pounding "Th-... That was close..."

Malon nodded in agreement "Yeah... Let's try not to do that again, that was scary..."

Zelda looked down the cliff at the boulder, as the Bomb Flower exploded. A large chunk of the boulder was blasted away by the Bomb Flower.

Saria looked down, too "Hey, it worked! Well, somewhat."

"Come on, let's see if we can get inside!" Alta said, flying off. The others ran after her down the mountain and to the boulder "Look, almost half of it was blown away!"

Malon looked inside the cave "So, we just need to kill all the monsters in the cave?"

"That's what I'm hoping." Saria answered "Let's go." And they all walked into the cave.


	9. Clearing the Dodongo's Cavern

**Me again! Let me explain: The reason updates have been slower lately is because we've hit a part of the story that's had zero planning whatsoever, which is where WB hits a lot. Unfortunately, this is an unavoidable part of writing any long story. We'll be on friendly territory soon, though, so just be patient!**

**The second part of why this has been taking so long is that we've ('We' as in me and my family) spent all this week preparing for my birthday, which was yesterday. It won't happen again for another year, I promise!**

* * *

"It's hot in here..." Malon complained.

"Tell me about it..." Saria replied "But we need to keep going so we can clear out the monsters."

"Careful of the Beamos..." Alta warned, keeping an eye out ahead of them "If it sees you, it'll shoot a laser at you."

Saria looked at the Beamos "How do we get past it?"

Zelda looked around, and pointed out a Bomb Flower nearby "There."

"You sure we want to pull one of those out again?" Malon asked "It was scary the last time..."

"That's because we failed to coordinate, last time."

"Still... Let's just sneak past it, okay?"

Zelda sighed "Alright." They waited for the Beamos to turn away from their path and darted past it.

After a while, Malon spoke up "Hey, Saria? I've been wondering... Why do you have green hair?"

Saria looked at her "Huh?"

"Your hair is green. I've never seen that before."

"Oh. I dunno, it just is."

"That's weird."

Saria was about to reply, when two small, green creatures came up from the ground.

"Baby Dodongos!" Alta yelled.

One of them leapt at Zelda, who dodged and hit it from behind. It fell to the ground and exploded, making her stumble backwards.

Saria took on another one, blocking its attack and retaliating. As it fell, Malon ran at it and beat it away with her hammer, sending it into the wall, where it exploded harmlessly.

"What was that? Why did they explode?" Saria asked Alta.

"Dodongos have highly volatile materials inside of them, that go off when they die." Alta explained.

"So... They're living bombs, in other words?"

Alta nodded "To put it simply, yeah."

"We'd better be careful."

"No kidding." Zelda commented "We're just lucky these things are small."

"Yeah, bigger blasts can be more dangerous." Alta replied.

"Hey, if those were babies..." Saria noted, thinking "Where's their mother?"

"Saria's right." Zelda agreed "We can't let our guard down yet, the adults could still be nearby."

Saria and Malon both nodded, looking around. Listening closely, they heard something around a corner nearby.

_Thud, thud, thud._

"Something's coming..." Alta said.

"It's probably the mom." Malon said "She won't be happy when she finds out we killed her babies..."

"Well, I doubt it'd listen if we told it we only defended ourselves from them." Saria said.

"Maybe we should run?" Zelda suggested.

"We're clearing out the cave, aren't we? We'll have to fight it eventually, better sooner than later."

The adult Dodongo rounded the corner and looked at them.

"Look out, here it comes!" Alta yelled "Watch out for its fire breath!"

"Right." Saria replied "Fire breath. Got it. Any weak spots?"

"Most Dodongos have a soft spot in their armor where the tail and body connect."

Saria nodded, and the Dodongo took a deep breath. Everyone separated as it exhaled a blast of fire towards them. Saria ran towards it, and it swung its claw at her, which she blocked with her shield.

Zelda, who was close behind, took this opportunity to run behind the Dodongo and swing her sword at its tail, where she saw the weak spot. The Dodongo shrieked as the attack connected, and it spun around to face Zelda.

Saria dodged the Dodongo's tail as it flailed around while it turned, and hit with her own sword. The Dodongo fell to the ground, and everyone cleared the area before it exploded violently.

"Woah..." Malon gaped.

"How many of those things are there?" Saria asked no one in particular.

"Probably a lot." Alta answered "Darunia did say they infested the cave, though he might have meant other kinds of monsters."

"I _hope_ he meant other monsters..." Malon said "I don't want to fight too many more of those."

"I wouldn't get my hopes up." Zelda replied, as they continued on through the cavern.

Eventually, they reached a room with a lava pool it the middle - The only ground was along the walls. In each corner was a Bomb Flower.

"What's this?" Saria said, looking around.

"Maybe it's a monster's home or something." Malon suggested.

"Like that one?" Zelda replied, pointing behind them. Everyone turned around and saw a huge Dodongo, staring down at them.

"...Yeah, like that one." Saria said, and it roared and started inhaling. She and the others ran to the side to avoid its large fire attack, and Saria looked for a way around it. The Dodongo was as big as the platform, so getting behind it was out of the question unless she wanted to run all the way around the room "Any ideas?" She asked the others. They all shook their heads.

The Dodongo started inhaling again, and Alta had an idea "Wait, I've got it! Their outer skin may be tough, but they're soft on the inside!"

"What do you suggest, we get eaten and hack it up from the inside?" Zelda asked Alta as they dodged another fire blast.

"No, but we have Bomb Flowers here!" Alta answered, flying over to one.

"Hey, she's right!" Saria said, following her "Come on!"

Zelda followed Saria and turned to Malon "Hurry up, Malon!"

"You sure there's not another way?" Malon asked.

"I'm afraid so. Now, come on!"

Malon sighed and ran over to them. They all stood around the Bomb Flower and waited for the Dodongo to approach. Soon enough, it started inhaling again.

"Okay, now!" Saria shouted, and they all pulled on the Bomb Flower at once. It came out without much resistance, and they tossed it into the Dodongo's mouth. It gulped, looked around, and flinched, smoke coming out of its mouth. It stumbled for a bit before curling into a ball and rolling at them.

"Uh oh!" Saria said as they jumped out of its way. It hit the wall with a crash, and they ran to the next Bomb Flower. The Dodongo turned and rolled after them.

"Look out!" Malon yelled, as she and Zelda jumped out of its way. Saria wasn't so lucky, however, and didn't have enough time to get out of the way entirely. As she ran to the side, the Dodongo rolled over her legs.

Saria fell to the ground "Ah! M-my legs!"

"Saria!" Alta exclaimed.

Zelda looked at the nearby Bomb Flower, then back to Malon "Come on, we need to hurry."

"What about Saria?" Malon asked her.

"We have to take care of the Dodongo before it does more damage."

Malon nodded "Okay." They got into position on either side of the Bomb Flower "You sure we can lift this on our own?"

"We have to; Saria's not available to help." Zelda told her, before they pulled on the Bomb Flower. They had some trouble, and it even lit before it was fully uprooted like the first time, but they managed to get it out and throw it at the Dodongo, who was inhaling again. It ate the Bomb Flower and exploded, falling lifeless to the ground. Malon and Zelda ran over to Saria and Alta, the latter of which was examining the former's legs. They were bleeding in several spots, and the whole area was bruised.

"Are you okay, Saria?" Malon asked.

"Y-... Yeah, I think so..." Saria answered.

"That much weight on her legs caused them to crack." Alta explained "Luckily that's something I can fix, but that's all I can do. I'm not trained well in healing, not like most of the Fairies around the world."

"That's alright... At least I'll still be able to walk."

"While that's true, I don't think it's a good idea, at the moment." Zelda told her "I'd recommend you stay off of them while they heal."

"So, it looks like we're gonna be in town for a while, then." Malon said

Saria nodded "Yeah, okay. Could you help me up?"

Malon and Zelda lifted her up and supported her as they made their way back to the exit of the cavern, which was now empty.

"We didn't find Mister Cluck." Malon said sadly.

"Nope. We checked the whole cavern, too." Saria replied.

"Perhaps he's further up the mountain, or better yet back at the village." Zelda suggested.

"Maybe... Maybe dad found him!" Malon beamed "Yeah! Let's go back to the village!"

"Hang on, we have to get the Spiritual Stone of Fire from Darunia, first."

"Oh, right."


	10. Saria's Doubts

"Ahh, sunlight!" Malon yelled as they left the Dodongo's Cavern.

"I'm glad to be out of there." Saria said "Let's tell Darunia the good news."

"Are you sure you're gonna be alright going back up to the city?"

"I think so..."

Zelda pointed ahead of them "It looks like we won't have to. Look." There was a Goron rolling towards them. He stopped in front of them and uncurled - It was Darunia.

"When I heard the news, I couldn't believe it." He said "Three little girls, clearing out the Dodongo's Cavern single-handedly? You've got to be kidding."

"Nope, we're not!" Malon told him, helping Saria sit down on the ground "We killed all the monsters!"

"So it seems. Are you sure you killed them all?"

"Well, there may be a few stragglers..." Zelda said "We killed the major threat, though."

"You can check if you like, we're not lying." Alta assured him.

Darunia was silent, before walking past them into the cave. Moments later, he came back out, laughing "What do you know, it's empty! How did you do that?"

"Believe me, it wasn't easy." Zelda said "Just look at Saria."

"True. That is an impressive feat, for three young girls like you! It seems like I underestimated you."

"How did all of this start, anyway?" Alta asked him.

"A man in black armor came and told us to give him the Goron's Ruby. I, of course, wouldn't give it to him, and once he left, all those monsters suddenly started appearing, and then the boulder blocked the way into the cave."

"So, Ganondorf's been here already..." Zelda noted.

"He _demanded_ our stone and, from what I can see, caused all these problems for disobeying him. You three, on the other hand, helped us... If you were not female, I would make you our Sworn Brothers, and give you the Spiritual Stone as a sign of our brotherhood. But, since you are, and I know you're looking for the stone anyway, how about I just give it to you? It's the least I can do to repay you, for what you've done for my people." He held the stone out in his hand.

"Thank you, Darunia." Zelda said, taking it.

Darunia looked up at the sky, laughing again "What an adventure! It'll make for an incredible story!"

"Well, he's a lot brighter now, isn't he?" Alta whispered to Saria, who nodded in agreement, smiling as Darunia went on.

"Not nearly as angry as he was before." Saria commented "It's nice seeing such a change."

Alta nodded back "He's a very expressive person. Those kinds of changes are easy to see in people like him."

"Well, good luck on your adventures, you three!" Darunia finished, before rolling off.

"We have two of the stones, now!" Malon cheered "Now we just need one more, right?"

Zelda nodded "Yes, we do. The last stone is at Zora's Domain."

"First, Saria needs to rest at the village." Alta said "Let her legs heal up, before we leave."

"Yeah. We don't want to have to carry her around everywhere, right?" Malon asked.

"Probably not, no." Zelda answered "Alright, we'll stay in the village for a bit, until she's able to stand on her own without injuring herself."

They helped Saria up and headed back down to Kakariko Village, as the sun started to set. Zelda led them to Impa's house, and they helped Saria to the bed, and she sat down.

"How long should it take for Saria to feel better?" Malon asked.

"Not too long." Alta answered "With my help, we should be able to leave in the morning."

"I don't understand, though." Zelda said "Why can't you heal all of her wounds? I thought Fairies were capable of doing that."

"Yeah, well, just because we have the power to doesn't mean we know how to use it. I spent most of my life travelling around, then living in the forest with the Kokiri." Alta explained, sitting down next to Saria "Most Fairies live in the Fairy Fountains, where they learn how to use their healing magic effectively."

"Is there a Fairy Fountain near here?" Malon asked.

"Not that I know of, though I've only ever been to a couple."

"So, we're still staying in the village until morning." Zelda said "We'd better get some sleep, then."

Saria laid back on the bed "Yeah, good idea."

"You've been awfully quiet." Alta noted "Something on your mind?"

Saria was silent for a moment "Maybe I should just go back to the forest..."

"Huh? But, what about the last stone?"

"It's too dangerous to stay here." Saria said, sitting up and looking at her legs "Just look, I got hurt really badly."

"You're going to get better, though. You'll be fine!"

"Yeah, but will I be so lucky the next time? This isn't one of the games we play back in the forest, this is the real thing..."

"But you can't just give up..."

Saria looked at Alta "Is it really giving up, though? We have two of the three stones, isn't that enough to stop Ganondorf from getting into the Sacred Realm?"

"What about the Zoras?" Zelda asked "Surely, Ganondorf will be looking for the Spiritual Stone in their possession, and I doubt he'd be very kind to them in looking for it."

"I'm sure you guys can handle it, right?"

"We could, but it'll be easier if you're there, Saria." Malon explained.

"At least come with us to Zora's Domain." Zelda said "After that, you can decide if you want to go back."

Saria thought for a moment, then nodded "Alright. But first, let's get to sleep."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and laid down in various places around the house.

Alta laid down next to Saria "I take it your mind's made up? We're going back after we get to the Zoras?"

Saria nodded "Yeah. I don't want to stay here for much longer." She looked at Alta "What are you going to do?"

"What do you think? I'm your Fairy; The Deku Tree has entrusted me with your care. Wherever you go, I'll be right here by your side."

"Ah, I see. Thanks, Alta."

"No problem. Good night, Saria."

"Good night..."


	11. Zora's Domain

Saria slowly opened her eyes as she woke up. Alta was flying next to her legs, examining them.

"Good morning." Alta greeted with a smile.

"Good morning." Saria replied, as she sat up. She flinched as she lifted one of her legs.

"Careful. Your legs are probably still sore from yesterday. Take it slowly."

Saria nodded "Yeah." She slowly stood up, looking around "Where's Malon?"

Alta flew up to eye level "She's outside, probably talking to Talon."

"Ah. It's good that they found each other, huh?"

Alta nodded "Yep. She's going to have to leave again though, if she wants to help Zelda. Which I'm sure she does."

"Yeah." Saria looked at Zelda, who was still asleep. Alta giggled "Is something funny?"

"She looks so peaceful. It's a bit uncanny that someone so serious can look so different."

Saria nodded "Yeah. You think we should wake her up?"

"Nah, she's alright. Let's go take a look around town while we wait for her, instead."

"Good idea." Saria replied as the two headed out the door. Outside, they saw Malon and Talon, and Saria waved "Hey, good morning, Malon!"

They waved back "Good morning, Saria!" Malon greeted as they walked over "How'd you sleep?"

"Pretty well. You?"

"I slept good!" Malon's wording made Alta giggle a bit.

"Thanks for yer help findin' Malon, you two." Talon said "I really appreciate it."

"It's no problem." Alta replied "We got to see new places, right Saria?"

Saria nodded "Yeah."

"So, what're you going to do now?" Talon asked.

"We're going to Zora's Domain for a bit, then we'll head back home."

"So, you haven't changed your mind, then?" Malon asked, sadly.

Saria shook her head "No, I haven't. I may stick around Zora's Domain for a little bit, but after that I'm going back."

"I'm gonna miss you..."

"You can still visit." Saria looked at Alta "...Right?"

"Maybe..." Alta replied "I'll have to look into that more, because I've heard stories of Hylians being transformed into Stalfos after being in the forest for too long."

"Oh..."

"We can still figure something out, I'm sure."

"I'd love to be able to see you again, Saria!" Malon said.

Saria nodded "Me, too. I take it you're going to stay with Zelda?"

"Yep!"

"Be careful, okay Malon?" Talon said "I don't want ya to end up like your mother..."

"I'll be fine, as long as the Princess is with me!"

"What happened to her mother?" Alta asked.

"Dad doesn't like to talk about it." Malon answered before Talon could "Mom died a long time ago, before I could remember. She's not around anymore, and that's all I really want to know."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."

"That's okay."

Everyone was silent for a moment, until Saria realized something "Oh, I almost forgot! Talon, my shield is still in your cart, right?"

Talon nodded "Yep."

"Thanks." Saria said, before running to the cart and climbing inside. There, she swapped her heavy metal shield with her Deku Shield "Wow... This feels a lot lighter than it was before."

"That's because you've been using the metal shield." Alta explained "It's so heavy in contrast, the wooden shield feels lighter than it is."

"Ah. Okay." Saria replied, as they left the cart. When they got back to the group, Zelda was there.

"Good morning, Zelda." Saria greeted.

"Good morning, Saria." Zelda answered "Are you still coming with us to Zora's Domain?"

Saria nodded "Yep. Just for a little bit, though. After that, we're going back to the forest."

"Alright. Since everyone's here, let's get going."

"Do you girls need a ride?" Talon asked.

"We're better off on foot this time, actually. We'll be going up Zora's River, after all."

"Ah, that's true. And we don't want my cart to get stuck, do we?"

"No, that would not be good."

"Besides, shouldn't you be back at the ranch?" Malon asked "Mister Ingo's gonna be mad again."

"Oh, you're right! I'd better get back there, yeah. See you girls later!" Talon said, heading to the cart. The girls waved and walked out of Kakariko Village, and up to Zora's River.

"Woah." Saria gaped as they approached the river "That's a lot of water."

"Zora's River supplies most of the water in Hyrule." Alta explained.

"Really?"

"Yeah. The Zoras have the duty of guarding the water source."

"And the Spiritual Stone of Water." Zelda added.

"Wow, that's-..." Saria started, but she stopped once they approached a huge waterfall. She was speechless.

"Look at that waterfall!" Malon said "It's huge!"

Zelda walked up to the waterfall and pulled out a blue ocarina.

"What are you doing?" Saria asked her.

"To get into Zora's Domain, you have to know the song of the Royal Family of Hyrule." Alta told Saria.

"Oh, okay."

As Zelda played the song, the center of the waterfall opened, revealing a passage behind it.

"Woah..." Saria said, before they walked into the passage. On the other side was a cavern filled with water, which reflected light onto the walls and ceiling.

"This place is pretty!" Malon exclaimed, running up to the nearest wall "Look at this!"

Saria nodded "Yeah, it is..."

"Where are you going?" Malon asked Zelda, who was walking ahead of them.

"To see King Zora about the Spiritual Stone." Zelda replied.

"Oh, okay!" Malon ran after her.

Saria waved "I think I'm gonna look around here for a bit."

"Okay, bye Saria!"

Alta waved, too "Bye, Malon!"

Saria looked down at the water, and at the white fish-people in it "Are those the Zoras?"

"Yep! Why don't you go say hi?"

Saria nodded "Okay." She took a step back before diving into the water. Then she swam up to the surface and looked up at Alta "Wow, it's warmer than I thought it would be."

Alta giggled "It's nicer than the ponds in the forest, huh?"

"Definitely."

Saria overheard two Zoras talking "Hey, did you hear about Lord Jabu-Jabu?"

"No, what happened?"

"Ever since that Gerudo came to visit King Zora, he's been looking sickly."

"Really? That's not good."

Saria swam up to them "Excuse me, who's Lord Jabu-Jabu?"

"He's our Guardian Spirit. He resides in Zora's Fountain, but you need the King's permission to see him."

"He's your Guardian Spirit...? Okay, thank you." Saria said, as she swam away, and to shore.

"Sounds like Ganondorf attacked Lord Jabu-Jabu." Alta said "You think Malon and Zelda can handle it?"

Saria stared at the water for a few moments, thinking "...That's not important, anymore."

"It isn't?"

"No. Because, whether or not they can handle it, I'm going to do whatever it takes to help the Zoras. The world is already down one Guardian Deity, I won't have another die too."

"So, you changed your mind, then?"

Saria stood up, and nodded "Let's go find Zelda and Malon."

Alta smiled, and nodded back "Okay, let's go!" And the two ran off.


	12. Ruto's Letter

**Okay. So. It's nine days after the posting of the last chapter (As of my writing this message), and I'm finally getting around to writing this one. I'm so sorry. I have no excuse for you guys this time, I guess I just have procrastination issues. A good thing for me to keep in mind, though!**

**I also couldn't help but notice that zeldakitty left. 'Tis sad, indeed. :(**

***Ahem...mm... Ack* Anyway, moving on...**

* * *

Saria found Zelda and Malon leaving King Zora's chamber.

"Hey, guys!" Alta greeted them, excitedly.

"You're still here?" Zelda asked "I thought you'd have gone back to the forest by now."

"There's been a bit of a change in plans." Saria explained.

Malon gasped "Really?! So, you're staying, then?!" As Saria nodded, Malon jumped "Yay! We all get to stay together!"

"So, what caused you to change your mind?" Zelda asked.

"I overheard two Zoras talking about their Guardian Deity; It looks like Ganondorf was already here, and attacked him." Saria said.

"Oh, no!" Malon replied "What do we do?"

"Whatever we can." Saria answered Malon "How did things go with King Zora?"

"His daughter, Princess Ruto, is missing." Zelda said "We're going to have to find out where she is before we can get the Spiritual Stone, since it's in her possession, not King Zora's."

"Well, that makes things complicated." Alta noted.

"So... What? Do we just look around for, like, a message in a bottle or something that says where Ruto is?" Malon asked.

"More or less." Zelda answered.

"Well, where should we start?"

"We'll start by searching Zora's Domain. That shouldn't take us too long, since Zora's Domain isn't that big. We can immediately rule out King Zora's chamber; If something was in there, he'd have found it."

"On that note, we probably don't even have to look in Zora's Domain, since the Zoras here would've found something if it was here, too." Alta pointed out.

"Hmm, true. I suppose that leaves the surrounding areas, Zora's River and Lake Hylia. We may want to split up to cover as much ground as possible."

"Excuse me, I'm a bit confused..." Malon interjected "Isn't Lake Hylia on the other side of Hyrule?"

"The Zoras have a tunnel that leads there somewhere in Zora's Domain. I'm unsure where, though."

"Wouldn't it take a long time to get there, though?"

"That is true, the distance between here and there is quite far. Of course, the Zoras still find a way to travel there and back in an instant. Hopefully we can use the same method."

"Alright, so who's going where, then?"

"I'll go to Lake Hylia." Saria volunteered.

"Alright. Malon, you can check the river. Perhaps there's something hidden in the water there. I'll stay here and see if there's anything the Zoras missed or overlooked here. If none of us find anything, we'll all meet here in an hour."

Everyone nodded, and went their separate ways. Saria headed down to the water.

"Princess Zelda sure knows how to coordinate." Saria noted.

"She _is_ the Princess." Alta said "She needs to be ready to rule Hyrule when her father dies. Someone in the Royal Family probably went over strategic planning with her."

Saria had a puzzled look on her face "When? The King's going to die?"

"Yeah... Oh, right. I never explained the concept of mortality to you, did I?"

Saria shook her head "No. What's that?"

"It's the fact that most living things age, and when they get too old, they die."

"Oh... Even Malon and Princess Zelda?"

Alta nodded "Yeah. Eventually, they'll grow old and die."

"What about...?" Saria trailed off, motioning to herself.

"Well... The Kokiri are actually more complicated than that. They can die, but not by any kind of natural process. They don't grow old, and they can't get sick... In order for a Kokiri to die, they have to be killed either by a person or a monster."

"Ah... That's good to know." Saria had more questions for Alta, but she figured she could ask them later. Right now, she had to focus on finding Princess Ruto. She looked around "So... Where could this tunnel be?"

"It couldn't hurt to ask someone." She flew over to a Zora, and Saria followed "Excuse me! Do you know how we can get to Lake Hylia from here?"

"Lake Hylia? The way there is right under us, actually." The Zora answered, pointing out the tunnel, which was under the water "Just swim right through there, and you'll be at Lake Hylia."

"Okay, thanks!"

Saria looked down at the tunnel "Well, that was easy. Will you be okay going down there, Alta?"

"I can create an air bubble around myself, don't worry."

"An air bubble, huh? Any chance you can give me one, too?"

"Sorry, but I can't make one big enough for you."

"Ah. Well, it was worth a try. Let's go, then." Saria said, before diving into the water and down to the tunnel. Swimming through it, she soon came back up to the surface, gasping for air.

Alta flew up above the water "Are you okay, Saria?"

Saria nodded "Y-yeah... It's hard to hold your breath for very long, huh?"

"Unfortunately, yeah. We made it, though!"

Saria swam to the shore and looked around at the vast lake in front of her "Woah..."

"It's gonna be hard to search for clues in this huge lake. Where should we start?"

"I have no idea... Hey, what's that?" Saria said, pointing to a gleam on the surface of the water.

Alta flew over to it, and Saria followed behind "Hey, it's a bottle! It has a paper in it, too!"

"A bottle?" Saria grabbed the glass bottle and swam back to shore before opening it and taking out the paper.

_Help me. I'm waiting for you inside Lord Jabu-Jabu's belly._

_- Ruto_

_PS: Don't tell my father!_

"Wait... What?" was Saria's reaction "She's inside Lord Jabu-Jabu?"

"I'd like to know how this ended up all the way down here..." Alta said "Well, I guess we know what to do, now. Let's bring this to King Zora."

"But, doesn't this say _not_ to tell him?"

"We don't really have much choice; I'm sure with Jabu-Jabu being sick and all, the King'll be more careful about who goes to see him. We have to provide him a reason, one way or another."

"Ah... Okay." Saria put the note back in the bottle "...What is it?" she asked when she heard Alta giggling.

"I was just thinking about how Malon said 'A message in a bottle' as an example, and here we are, with a message in a bottle."

Saria started giggling, too "Hey, you're right! That's kind of funny." She said, before heading back to Zora's Domain. She emerged next to the shore, where Zelda was standing "Phew... Oh... Hi, Princess Zelda."

"Hello, Saria. Have you found something already?" Zelda asked.

Saria nodded, and handed Zelda the letter and bottle.

"Hmm... Are you sure this is accurate?" Zelda asked, after reading it.

"Accurate or not, it's the only clue we have so far." Alta noted "It's worth a look either way."

"I suppose so. Alta, go and get Malon. Saria and I will see the King."

Alta nodded and flew off, while Zelda and Saria headed to King Zora's chamber.


End file.
